The back door, of course, didn't exist. One of the classic moments when the plan worked, but the plan was useless.
Aki thought about slinking around to the front, but the door would be locked, and besides, the guards were milling about at the porch of the saloon next door.
Silently, Eran let himself down from his vantage point "If I give you a leg up, you should be able to climb up to that open window." He pointed upwards, and offered Aki'ru his shoulder to stand on, but Aki shook his head "interlink your talons, like that. It'll be easier and I won't hurt you."
Eran did so, and boosted the yautja up towards the windowsill. He pulled himself up, and within seconds, and bent down to give Eran a hand.
After a short time, both of them were inside, Eran wielding his spear, and ducking low, staying to the wall, Aki striding along, quietly, his wrist blades extended. They crossed the landing, and Eran silently pointed towards the large door set in the wall. It was one of those old-fashioned swinging doors, attached to the frame with two flimsy-looking hinges.
Aki depressed the handle, and the door swung inwards, revealing a master bedroom, with a large bed.
Both the yautja and the xenomorph ventured inside, Eran closing the door behind him. In the dim light of the streetlamp, a prone form was laying on the bed. Aki moved towards it, when they heard a loud click behind them, and a small flame sprang up in the dark corner of the room, previously hid by the door.
It illuminated the face of the governor, and sparked off his bright eyes. After a second, only the glowing tip of a cigarette remained.
"I was expecting you, though not that soon."
Both Aki and Eran swung around, Eran closing in on the governor with a hiss, but he seemed unperturbed. "Yautja, hold your dog in check."
"He's not my dog." Nevertheless, he clicked at Eran to wait.
"You are probably wondering why I am not armed, or there are no guards waiting in this house." The governor sighed, and the cigarette end glowed as he pulled. "The first time I set eyes on you, Aki'ru, I knew you were two things. For one, by the actions on the street, is that you had a strong moral compass." He sniggered, pulled again, and then continued "The second thing I knew is that you weren't alone. The hatch leading to that unfortunate river only opens from below"
"I could just kill you, right here, right now." Aki stepped up to the Governor. "I'm guessing someone is listening or you have your people at the ready… that will not help you"
"Funny as it sounds, the only thing I had ready was a motion sensor in the hallway. I have no weapons, no reinforcements" The governor pulled again, a strong pull that made the glow illuminate his nose, and the plaster stuck to it "And do you know why?"
"No?" Aki'ru felt himself inexplicably drawn into the aura of this man
"Because you'd win. You are a predator. I guessed there would be two of you, armed to the teeth. This… creature here is even worse. My men are no militia. Enough to scare the locals, yes, but by far no match for you. There'd be a bloodbath, and in the end I'd probably die alongside them."
"Your guess is correct." No need to tell them about the lost weaponry.
"Well, fancy that. You see, I'm a businessman. Despite my appearance, I'm only here to increase my own bank account, so I can go to goodness knows where. I heard the ladies are very agreeable on LV-399." He chuckled at his own joke, and Eran hissed angrily at him, which made him scowl. "You see, I can help you. Whatever you need, weapons, transport, I can arrange that."
"And what do you want from us?"
"You leave me and my little operation alone. And with alone, I mean alone. You just leave."
Aki breathed in. This seemed like a laudable option. It would mean a minimum of bloodshed, and a maximum of profit. One thing he wanted to know first. "Who was the girl whose child you shot?"
"Oh, that?" the governor chuckled "That was my wife"
Eran clicked to Aki "He's lying"
Never mind how the xeno knew. Aki pulled the pencil out of his pocket. "Do you know what that is?"
"It's a pen"
"Do you know where we found it?" Aki wasn't sure, but he had seen the flicker of doubt, even fear cross the governor's face
"I guess not..."
"You wouldn't know, by chance?" Aki's mandibles parted in a large grin
"Listen, I'm not here to play games. Either you take my offer and leave, or..."
"Or..?"
The governor stared at the pen, seemingly mesmerized by it.
"If that xenomorph so much as flinches, Ill blow your guts out." A snub-nosed shotgun pistol as if by magic appeared in the governor's hand, pointed at Aki's belly. "It's a disposable weapon. My ace up the sleeve, so to speak"
Aki stayed very still. He knew that if one man would make true on his threat, it was this cold-blooded human.
He hadn't taken in the tail of the xenomorph though. At least two metres in length, and jet black, it could move very quietly, and very slowly, but also lash out without a moment's notice. Eran had held it poised up behind him, and now brought it down with full force, hitting the wrist with so much force that it shattered the bone, the barb severing through the flesh and the sinews. Blood spurted from the large gash, and the gun clattered to the floor.
Eran hissed, pouncing on the governor, pinning him to the ground. He was still staring at the bloody stump where his hand had been.
"I'm….impressed…"
Aki picked up the gun, looking tiny in his large hand. Eran hissed again at the governor, and poised the spear in striking position
"Eran, wait" he clicked. Then to the governor, who was gripping the bloody stump, his face contorted with pain. "Who was the girl?"
"Her..bloody name.. was ..Jeanne I think…"
"Why did you shoot her child?"
"It..wasn't…even…hers…"
"Where can I find her?"
"I ... don't ... know…" He laughed. A high-pitched, deranged giggle. "You...will…kill…me…"
Aki squared his shoulders "Yes. Right now, I will."
He raised his hand, the pen glinting evil in the light of the street lamp, and he brought it down with menacing power, down into the side of the governor's skull. There was crack, a wet squelch, and with a sigh, the governor expired.
Eran looked slightly taken aback, and got up from the body. Blood seeped from the wound, and the end of the biro glinted.
"So it is done" he hissed
"Justice is served."
Eran nodded.
They stood over the body for a moment, until they heard a knock against the door below. "Boss?" a rough voice called out
Aki looked up, out through the window. "It'll soon be dawn. We need to get that bike."
"I cannot help you." Eran clicked, in a downcast way
"No matter. You are coming!"
The xeno nodded timidly.
Aki checked the window. It was shut tight, and below them, on the street, two guards were knocking on the governor's door, again.
"Boss! You told us to check on you!"
That wasn't the way out. The two left the room, moving silently to the back of the house, where the window was still open.
"We'll go back down to street level."
Eran nodded.
Aki slowly let himself out of the window, and jumped, hitting the ground with a light thud only. Eran came out after him, making even less noise, but hissing in pain on impact.
"Are you all right?" the Yautja whispered
The xeno only nodded, gritting his teeth, in both maws. "Hurry" he hissed.
They moved forward, to the corner of the building, checking the space and the windows, and then scooting across the open space, crouching low behind a few ramshackle outbuildings. A few chickens clucked and squawked inside the enclosure.
"The hover bike is on the front of the next building."
"I know. Despite having no visible eyes, I'm not blind" Eran's voice sounded slightly strained.
"I was just –"
"Never mind. Can you use it?"
Aki thought for a few moments "I should be able to start it."
Eran growled, but nodded. "How do we do this?"
"The guards at the governor's house will enter it in a few moments. Once they are inside, we sprint over, start the thing and get out of here."
They moved up to the corner of the house. The bike was standing on its stands, quietly, twenty metres away from them, basically one huge turbine with stabilizers and handlebars strapped onto it.
Muffled conversation drifted over to them, and then an ear-splitting crack of a door being forced.
"Now" Aki whispered, and the two started the run towards their escape vehicle. The yautja jumped into the seat, and started to fiddle with the control panel. Eran crept up to the back seat, and sat himself down.
Seconds passed. The door of the governor's house gaped in the darkness, like an open wound.
The hover bike stayed cold and inanimate.
Aki growled under his breath as he attacked the operating system. He had worked human tech before, but never in the dark and never under pressure. This system was outdated, but it refused to fire the engines without a transponder, a transponder they did not have. There had to be an override, he knew it, but he just had to find it.
He felt Eran tap his shoulder, and he looked back to the xenomorph who was pointing upwards, and putting one of his talons in front of his lips.
Upstairs in the building, a light had flared on, cutting a square out of the starlit night. Slowly, a shadow appeared in the window, looking downwards, and suddenly freezing in shock. Aki quickly forced his attention back to the control panel. They might only have seconds left.
A scream ripped the silence of the night apart. "BOOOOBBBBBYYYY! THEY ARE STEALING YOUR BIKE!"
A crash was heard from the room, and a second shadow appeared in the window. "HEY! STOP!" the voice shouted, and Eran saw another window light up in the house next door.
"Whatever you want to do, do it NOW!" he clicked hurriedly at Aki'ru.
"I'm woooorking on it" he gritted through closed mandibles.
Suddenly, there was a hiss, then a sound like a ripped drum, and the hover bike's engines burst into life.
The window opened, and someone leaned out, brandishing an old fashioned rifle.
"Hold on, Eran!" Aki gunned the throttle, and the bike jumped, and then suddenly sped off. Eran had almost slid off the seat until his talon caught Aki's waist, and he pulled himself close to the yautja. His feet didn't find the footrests as he was much too large to fit on the rear seat. Dangerously close to his legs the exhaust vents spat out hot air and steam, making him pull himself even closer to the yautja, until his entire body was in contact with Aki's back. The houses, now more windows lighting up, rushed past them, slowly turning into a blur at the speed.
Eran held on to Aki, feeling the yautja's muscles bulge under the jerkin, and the warmth seep into his talon.
They thundered out of the waking town, leaving a trail of smoke and dust behind them, thrown up by the engines.
Behind them, they heard the angry roar of two other hover bikes being started up. "We will get company!" Aki shouted over the din of the engine, and Eran held on even tighter. To their left, the sky was slowly transforming from the dark blue of the night to a lighter one. Dawn would soon be upon them. Aki angled the bike, and turned into that direction. They would need to shake their pursuers, and he knew exactly how.